Cody Bellinger Bombs: Chronicling Home Run 61
Dodgers Nation will be writing about ‘Bellinger Bombs’. The Dodgers have one of the best young power hitters in the game under contract for the foreseeable future. Writers like Sam Miller have asked the question ‘What if Cody Bellinger is going to break the all-time home run record’. As the career home runs continue to pile up, we will examine each one in greater detail. We will allow you; the fan, to savor each one as they should be. Because what’s more fun than a home run? (You can look back at the collection here).
Cody Bellinger home runs are a dish served better in a win – no one will dispute that. The Dodgers lost to the Mets on Wednesday afternoon 7-3, with all of their runs coming on two long home runs. One of them of course was Bellinger’s 22nd long one of the season.
Still, this was Bellinger’s first home run since the calendar flipped to September. We’re hopeful that it’s the start of a binge that sees him finish strong, with another division title running parallel to his success.
Let’s take a look at the dinger in all it’s long ball glory.
The Home Run
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 6, 2018
Bellinger’s career home run log tells us that it was his 43rd home run off right-handed pitching and 29th at Dodger Stadium. This was the fourth time he’s gone deep off Zach Wheeler – two more than any other pitcher in the big leagues. Nevertheless, it was his seventh as a center fielder and 29th to straight away right field. The home run occurred in the seventh inning – the fifth time he’s gone deep in that frame. His nine home runs against the New York Mets are his most against any ball club.
Bellinger remains in 54th place on the all-time franchise list with 61 career home runs. Wally Moon and Wes Parker await him with 64, a mark he should surpass later this month.
How Bellinger’s Home Run Impacted The Game
When Bellinger accomplished the feat – the Dodgers trailed by a 7-2 score. It was a 98 percent certainty that the Mets were going to win the game; and they did. The seats at Dodger Stadium had already begun to clear out – you can see that much in the replay. Bellinger homered, and cut the deficit to four. The Dodgers still were just a 95 percent win expectancy, and the home run really was a footnote or afterthought to most who attended or watched this game.
The Victim
Owns Zach Wheeler. It could be time to party, have necessary party items ready. pic.twitter.com/ea6dmwhOWk
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) September 5, 2018
We had a feeling that Zach Wheeler may serve one up to Cody Bellinger, just by sheer fact that he owns the guy. Wheeler has already appeared in this column once this year, and becomes our first repeat offender. Lifetime, Bellinger is now 4 for 8 against Wheeler with all four hits leaving the ballpark. Wheeler brings out the best in Bellinger when it comes to going deep. The right hander has had a nice season for the moribund Mets though. On the year, he’s 10-7 with a 3.39 ERA, allowing just 14 home runs in 27 starts.
Exit Velocity, Distance, Pitch Data, and Angle
#Mets 7 @ #Dodgers 3 [B7-1o]?Cody Bellinger homers (22): fly ball to RF (solo)
91.3mph Slider
RHP Zack Wheeler (14)— Home Run Tracker (@DingerTracker) September 6, 2018
Wheeler had good stuff on this day, striking out nine Dodgers. For Bellinger to catch a mistake late was no small-feat. It was a 91 mile per hour slider that Bellinger turned on and hooked inside the right field foul pole. The ball had an exit velocity of 100 miles per hour and traveled 375 feet off the bat. At it’s highest point it reached a launch angle of 36 degrees, as you can see it appeared to be a very high home run.
Overall Bellinger-Bomb Prominence Score
There are always two ways you can go with scoring this one. It was a majestic blast and came off a pitcher on the top of his game. The fact that it came at Dodger Stadium adds a little to the score – even if many had went about with their Los Angeles lives when he hit it. We give him a solid but not spectacular score on this one. They’re all special, and an event to get excited about. Hopefully they start to come in bunches as the Dodgers push towards a pennant and division title.
Dodgers Nation Prominence HR Score: 7.0 (A couple friends of the site helped with this one)
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